With school newly out for summer, back-to-school shopping may be the last thing on your mind. However, you’ll want to put one thing on your radar for July and August — your state’s tax-free weekend.
During your state’s tax-free shopping holiday, you can purchase back-to-school necessities, such as computers, clothing and school supplies, without paying your state’s sales tax.
To help you plan, here’s everything you need to know about tax-free shopping for summer 2018.
[See: Avoid These Common Pitfalls During the Back-to-School Shopping Trip.]
What are tax-free weekends? Some states have it written into their laws that state sales taxes will be waived for a short period (usually a weekend, but it could be several days in some states) on specific items at a certain time of year. There are tax-free weekends in some states for energy-efficient appliances and even disaster-preparation supplies in hurricane-prone areas.
However, the most popular type of tax-free shopping holiday for consumers is of the back-to-school variety.
Note that you still may have to pay some tax on your items. While state sales taxes are waived during tax-free periods, you may still have to pay local taxes, which vary by city. However, some states’ tax-free holiday laws require all local taxes to be waived as well.
To get full details on your state’s tax holiday, visit your state comptroller’s website.
[See: 10 Things to Know Before You Shop for Back-to-School Supplies.]
Which school supplies can I buy tax-free? States define carefully which items qualify for the tax break.
Broadly, they include many back-to-school items for students and educators. Specifically, however, rules vary by state. You’ll have to check your state comptroller’s website to see all exclusions. Here are some items that are commonly included in state tax-free holidays:
— Clothing and shoes: Handbags, certain accessories and athletic apparel may be excluded.
— School supplies: This category generally includes calculators, art supplies, binders and common items on school-supply lists. Popular items for teachers such as maps and workbooks are often included as well. However, some art supplies and electronic items may be excluded.
— Computers and software: Tablets, laptops and educational software are generally included. However, gaming software, external hard drives and other accessories may be excluded.
In addition to excluding certain purchases, many states impose a dollar cap on the items that qualify for waived taxes. For example, some states specify that only computers and tablets priced at $750 or less can be bought tax-free. Many states place similar caps on clothing. For example, only items priced at less than $100 can be bought tax-free in certain states.
Some states, meanwhile, don’t place limits on item prices. They instead make only a portion of the purchase tax-exempt. In Maryland, for example, the first $40 of a backpack or book bag is tax-free.
Louisiana has perhaps the broadest tax-free holiday. The first $2,500 of most consumer purchases of “tangible personal property” is tax-free.
[See: 12 Habits of Phenomenally Frugal Families.]
Which states have tax-free weekends? Not all states offer tax-free holidays for back-to-school shopping. Here’s a list of those that do and their dates for 2018:
— Alabama (July 20 to July 22)
— Arkansas (Aug. 4 to Aug. 5)
— Connecticut (Aug. 19 to Aug. 25)
— Florida (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— Iowa (Aug. 3 to Aug. 4)
— Louisiana (Aug. 3 to Aug. 4)
— Maryland (Aug. 12 to Aug. 18)
— Mississippi (July 27 to July 28)
— Missouri (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— New Mexico (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— Ohio (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— Oklahoma (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— South Carolina (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— Tennessee (July 27 to July 29)
— Texas (Aug. 10 to Aug. 12)
— Virginia (Aug. 3 to Aug. 5)
— Wisconsin (Aug. 1 to Aug. 5)
How much will you save? How big your discount will be depends on your state’s tax rate. Among the states that offer tax-free holidays, state taxes range from 4.5 percent to around 7 percent. So, it’s not a huge discount. But if you have a cart full of back-to-school clothing or are buying a big-ticket item, such as a laptop, you could save a nice amount. Plus, tax-free weekends generally intersect with retailers’ back-to-school sales, so you could save even more on top of that tax break.
More from U.S. News
12 Shopping Tricks to Keep You Under Budget
10 Money-Saving Websites to Check Before Shopping
Everything You Need to Know About This Summer’s Tax-Free Holidays originally appeared on usnews.com
